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assume that the Consulting Engineers will make good at
their own expense to the satisfaction of this Government
the bridges and culverts &c., which have been condemned on
the best expert authority, an expense which is outside
the Estimates sanctioned by this Government. (Memorandum
of March, 1901, on "Financial responsibility of Consulting
Engineers" paragraph 2). The letter of Sir John Wolfe Barry
and Partners to the Crown Agents dated 25th. January, 1906,
in which they accepted the position of Consulting Engineers
does not however appear to cover the extent of responsibi-
-lity indicated in the Memorandum, and I have no other
information as to the precise liability of the Consulting
Engineers. I shall be glad to learn by telegraph what
steps they propose to take with this object. I have natural
-ly lost confidence in the ability of Mr. Eves as Chief
Engineer (directly working) under Consulting Engineers in
England and in the circumstances the course which recom-
-mends itself to me is the adoption of the system proposed
at the end of paragraph 11 of the Memorandum referred to
viz.:- "to place the Resident Engineer under the control
of the Government alone, and to relieve the Consulting
Engineers from further responsibility for the local
construction, and to limit their functions to giving
advice